“…[W]e were able to curate a compelling slate of programming that succinctly reflects the subtle variations in style that make each festival so special,” said Jane Rosenthal, the CEO of Tribeca Enterprises and co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. “We Are One: A Global Film Festival will offer audiences an opportunity to not only celebrate the art of film, but the unique qualities that make each story we watch so memorable.”
The Rundown
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It is also not a full-on substitute for the cancelled Tribeca Film Festival, or any of the other participating film festivals for that matter. Instead, We Are One is meant to offer the public access to festival-like programming when social gatherings have been restricted. “Cinema is not only a collective work, but also a shared experience,” said Berlinale directors Mariette Rissenbeck and Carlo Chatrian in a joint statement. “In these times of social distancing, the spirit of cooperation and a sense of community are needed more than ever before.”
Contributors and Benefactors
The full list of festivals who have contributed content to We Are One include:
Annecy International Animated Film Festival (France) Berlin Film Festival (Germany) BFI London Film Festival (United Kingdom) Cannes Film Festival (France) Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico) International Film Festival & Awards Macao (China) Jerusalem Film Festival (Israel) Karlovy Vary Film Festival (Czech Republic) Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland) Marrakech International Film Festival (Morocco) Mumbai Film Festival (India) New York Film Festival (United States) San Sebastián Film Festival (Spain) Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Sundance Film Festival (United States) Sydney Film Festival (Australia) Tokyo International Film Festival (Japan) Toronto International Film Festival (Canada) Tribeca Film Festival (United States) Venice Film Festival (Italy)
Viewers will have the option to donate to multiple aid groups and COVID-19 relief efforts during the festival’s run. Some of the benefiting organizations include:
World Health Organization UNICEF UNHCR Save the Children Doctors Without Borders Leket Israel GO Foundation Give2Asia
Line-Up
We Are One includes screenings and presentations from film festival archives the world over. For a full list of their programming and screening times, check their website. According to Variety, here are a few notable premieres that will be occurring at the online festival:
Features
Ricky Powell: The Individualist / U.S.A. (Director: Josh Swade; Screenwriters: Josh Swade, Christopher McGlynn; Producers: Christopher McGlynn, Eamon O’Neil) Ricky Powell rose to unexpected fame as an unfiltered street photographer capturing the downtown New York scene of the 80s and 90s. Eventually befriending and becoming an honorary member of the Beastie Boys entourage and joining them on tour, Powell captured some of the wildest moments in New York fashion, music, and art with his gorgeous and gritty portraits. With gripping testimonies from those who have found themselves on the other side of Ricky’s lens—including Natasha Lyonne, Debi Mazar, Mike D, Laurence Fishburne, Chuck D, and LL Cool J—this is an unforgettable, quintessential New York story. Online Premiere Eeb Allay Ooo! / India (Director: Prateek Vats; Screenwriter: Shubham; Producer: Shwetaabh Singh) Anjani, a young migrant in New Delhi, shoos away hordes of monkeys as a contractual monkey repeller, a newly created job to disperse infestations of the animals, who tend to gather near government buildings. His job description entails mimicking aggressive langurs, the pests’ natural enemies, with sounds that are supposed to be scary—”eeb,” “allay,” and “ooo.” But Anjani has difficulty working up a frightening enough delivery, and it soon becomes obvious that he is genuinely frightened of monkeys. With that revelation, and as the film’s scope expands to encompass Anjani’s pregnant sister and brother-in-law cop, the charming absurdity of the premise morphs into a socially engaged drama of a disenfranchised workforce. Propelled by quietly revolutionary currents that call to mind the films of Ken Loach, Anjani and his family come to emblematize a generation of marginalized workers walled off from an unforgiving job market. Cast: Shardul Bhardwaj, Mahender Nag, Shashi Bhushan, Nutan Sinha, Naina Sareen, Nitin Goel. Online Premiere Iron Hammer / China, U.S.A. (Director: Joan Chen; Screenwriters: Jon Weinbach, Jan Lee; Producer: Jan Lee) In her rousing and personal documentary debut, director Joan Chen charts the inspiring life and career of “Jenny” Lang Ping, a fearless volleyball star who embarked on one of the most remarkable journeys in modern Chinese history. She became an international icon not just as an outstanding player—the film’s title, and her nickname, comes from her trademark, pulverizing spike—but also as an assured, fearless coach who led her national team to an historic gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. But she didn’t settle there: when Lang Ping moved abroad to the United States to coach their Olympic team, she continued to break new ground while her players cinched multiple international championship titles. Brimming with never-before-seen footage, personal interviews, and (obviously) exhilarating volleyball, The Iron Hammer explores how Lang Ping’s success coaching both Team USA and China ratcheted up the bar for female empowerment and the global ambitions of a country at a crossroads. Presented by the Olympic Channel. World Premiere
Shorts
Yalta Conference Online / Japan (Director and producer: Koji Fukada; Screenwriters: Oriza Hirata, Koji Fukada) Just before the end of World War II, the Yalta Conference was held by the “Big Three” Allied leaders: Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States, Winston Churchill of Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the USSR. Japanese theater company Seinendan reimagines their conversations about postwar rule and power as a darkly humorous satire. Cast: Hiroko Matsuda, Yozo Shimada, Fumie Midorikawa. World Premiere Motorcycle Drive By / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Wexler; Producers: David Wexler, Bradford Coleman) “Motorcycle Drive By” is a Third Eye Blind deep cut: a cult favorite song, beloved by fans, but overlooked by the public at large. This documentary explores a multi-platinum band through one of their most enduring tracks, and features incredible live performances and an intimate acoustic rendition of the song performed where it was originally conceived. Hang backstage to hear from the song’s creators about the tune’s origin, and unravel the secret to its longevity. Motorcycle Drive By is a chance to see where it all began, while looking forward to a prolific band’s future. World Premiere
Episodic Programming
Losing Alice / Israel (Creator, writer, and director: Sigal Avin; Executive Producer: Jonathan Paran; Co-Producers: Nadav Palti, Tami Mozes Borovitz) Alice, a 48-year-old female director, is placeless: after investing all of her energy in raising her family, she feels taken for granted, still restless with professional ambition. But one fateful train ride, she meets a 24-year-old screenwriter, named Sophie an unwitting femme fatale who seems to have her whole life ahead of her. As Alice’s obsession deepens, she starts to lose her grip on her integrity, lured instead by seductive mirages of power and success. But the deeper Alice falls into the rabbit hole, Losing Alice only grows thornier with intrigue, as it deftly explores aging, jealousy, and guilt through the prism of its nuanced characters. At once a gripping erotic thriller and a frank tale of women staking their territory within a dismissive industry, this eight-episode series pushes Alice’s moral integrity to its breaking point. Cast: Ayelet Zurer, Lihi Koronowski, Gal Toren, Yossi Marshak, Shai Avivi, Chelli Goldenberg. World Premiere And She Could Be Next / U.S.A. (Directors: Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia) Made by a team of women filmmakers of color, And She Could Be Next tells the story of a defiant grassroots movement transforming American politics from the ground up. Filmed during the historic 2018 midterm elections, the two-part documentary series follows women of color on the front lines of elections and collective action, as candidates and organizers fight on behalf of black, brown, immigrant and poor communities—long neglected by politicians and pundits, and written out of a white patriarchal narrative. As history-makers like Stacey Abrams, Rashida Tlaib, and Deb Haaland confront racist opponents and protesters, and battle forces like systematic voter suppression and the oil lobby, they find they aren’t alone as they tap into the progressive power of this New American Majority. Through it all, And She Could Be Next asks whether or not democracy can be preserved—and made stronger—by rallying the voices of those most marginalized. World Premiere
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VR
Traveling While Black / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams; Producers: Jihan Robinson, Lina Srivastava, Ayesha Nadarajah) Traveling While Black confronts the way we understand and talk about race in America. Across a series of dialogues with restaurant patrons in Washington, DC, this 3D, 360-degree VR piece immerses the viewer in the long history of restricted movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities. Cast: Sandra Butler-Truesdale, Virginia Ali, Courtland Cox, Frank Smith, Amanda King, Samaria Rice. Global Festival Premiere Leave your thoughts on We Are One: A Global Film Festival’s line-up announcement (via Variety) and this article below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. For more Film Festival news coverage, photos, videos, and information, visit our Film Festival Page. We Are One: A Global Film Festival will be available to stream for free on YouTube from May 29 – June 7, 2020. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.
